Lamp shade



July 13, 1954 Q L Us I 2,683,800

LAMP SHADE Filed Feb. 21, 1950 FIG. I m FIG.3 5 4 FIG.4

10 31 6 19 17 I/P/W l8 9 111%? [F INVENTOR CARL TRADELI US Patented July13, 1954 UN 1 TED STATES PATENT F FI-CE.

LAMP SHADE Carl 'lradelius, New York, N. Y.

ApplicationFebruary 21, 1950,. Serial No. 145,436

'8 Claims.

This inventionrelates toimprovements inv'lamp shades, and includes newlamp shade elements tachable to and removable from. the upper and.

lower wires of a conventional lamp shade frame and. when attachedthereto in overlapping relation form an attractive lamp shade made up ofsimilarly appearing orcontrasting elements. The new lamp shade elementsare made of thin, resilient, flexible slats or strips, of somewhatcurved or arcuate cross-section and of uniform width. The lamp shadeelements or slats are advantageously made of the thin sheet materialabout two inches in width and about /1c0 of an inch thick, such as thestrip material, made of aluminum or aluminum alloys widely used inmaking Venetian blind slats and sold under the trade name Flexalum. Thismaterial is provided with a baked enamel finish and is available in anumber of difier-ent colors. It is normally slightly curved incross-section and :isadvantageously given a somewhat increased curvaturebefore the slats or elements for the lampshade are made-therefrom.

In producing the newlampshadeelementsor strips or slats, the-thinflexible.resilientmaterial, which is available in continuous lengths.having a slight cross-sectional curvature is advantageously first given.a somewhat greater curvature or arcuate cross-section and sections arethen cut flOII-l the continuous-strip of a length somewhat greater thanthe distance between the top and bottom wires of the lamp shade to whichthey are to be attached, sothat they will extend above and below thewire .frame members of the shade.

The new lamp shade elements orslats are-provided at their ends with oneor more offset portions for engaging the top and. bottom frame membersof the shade. These offset portions may be provided at each end of theslat or element, as by cutting the. elements lengthwisefrom each end toform tongues .or portions thereof which can be bent into an ofisetportion to .en age the inside of the top and bottom frame members whenthe .elementsarethemselves placed on the outside of the frame members.The distance apart of these o'fiset portions will be such that when theoffset portion at one end engages the upper frame member of "theshade-the lower offset portion will engage the lowerframe mem- .2 ber.The resilient flexible nature of the thin strip material permits theelements to be bent permit the ofiset portions at their ends to engagethe frame members of the shade.

The curved or arcuate cross-section of the individual elements isadvantageous not only in giving increased longitudinal stiffness orrigidity but also in insuring that, where the elements overlap, therewill be engagement of the overlapping edge with the surface of theelement which is overlapped. The lam shade as a whole is generallycircular or cylindrical or oval or square or polygonal in shape and thecurved or arcuate form of the individual elements assumes a smooth,closed a pearance of the shade in fin ished form when all of theelements are placed thereon.

In using the new shade elements in making the new lamp shade-theelementsare-successively applied to the frame by causing each element to engagethe upper and lower frame members. Where the upper wire frame is smallerthan the lower wire frame of the shade, the upper portionsof theelements of uniform width will overlap each other a greaterv distancethan will the lower portions thereof. At the bottom they may not overlapat all but the extent of the overlap=will increase to a maximum at thetop. They may also overlap to some extent at the bottom.

The ofiset portions of the elements are advantageously so arranged thatthey will be covered up by the overlapping portion .of the next adjacentelement-at the-top of thesihade, where the upper frame wire is smallerthan the lower. Th y may or zmayznot overlap at the bottom of the shade.

The wire frames used in making the new lamp shades. may bethe-conventional wire frames with upper and lower circular, oval,rectangular or polygonal wire membeinof: the same or different sizes,and upright uniting them. Where the frame members are entirely coveredup by the overlapping upright shade members or elements, they will notbe visible from outside the shade. Where they appear in an. offsetportion of the elements which is :not covered up by the overlappingadjacent element, the frame members advantageously madeoi specialmaterial such as bronze .or are provided with a coating which'harmonizes with. the shade elements .applied thereto.

The thin, flexible sheet metal shade elements may he made of strips ofdifierent colors. The elements of the entire shade may be of the samecolor where this is desired, e; g.', green orrose- 3 colored, or blue,etc.; or combinations of elements of different colors can be used in thesame lamp shade to give pleasing color combinations, e. g., by usingalternating elements of different colors or by using elements of anumber of colors arranged in the desired color combination in the shade.

One advantage of the new lamp shade is that the individual elements arereadily removed and replaced, thus permitting ready washing or cleaningof the shade or replacing of elements of one color with elements ofanother color, or with elements giving a new color combination.

The individual slats or elements, being made of thin sheet material ofuniform width and uniform curvature and with the offset portionssimilarly arranged in the slats can be closely packed and a customerdesiring to purchase a shade may select a number of slats of any desiredcolor, or slats of different colors and assemble the shade to give ashade either of uniform color or of varied color.

In making the individual shade elements or slats a continuous length ofthe thin sheet material with slight cross-sectional curvature isadvantageously first given a somewhat increased cross-sectionalcurvature and is then stamped out or cut out into standard lengthscorresponding to lamp shades having standard distances between the upperand lower frame members and the offset portion can also be stamped outat the ends at thesame time. The elements can thus be made continuouslyand in large numbers by a simple cutting and stamping operation with oneor more offset portions formed in each end of the individual elements atthe time they are cut from a long, continuous strip.

The form and nature and arrangements of the offset portions at the endsof the elements or slats can be varied. Certain advantageous forms andarrangements are illustrated in the accompanying drawings but it will beunderstood that the invention is not limited thereto.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. l is a perspective view of a lamp shade frame of conventional formwith two elements or slats secured thereto at different places in theframe;

Fig. 2 is a view in elevation of a completed lamp shade;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of one type of slat or element such as isused in the shade of Fig. 2 and illustrated in Fig. 1;

Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional views of the slat of Fig. 3 taken along thelines 44 and 55 respectively and with the thickness of the slat Tsomewhat exaggerated for purposes of illustration;

Fig. 6 is an elevation of a modified form of slat or element;

Fig. 7 is an elevational view of another modified form of slat orelement; and

Fig. 8 is a partial view of a lamp shade in which the slats of Fig. 7are used.

The lamp shade frame illustrated in Fig. l is a conventional type offrame comprising an upper circular frame member I9, a lower circularframe member ll of larger diameter than the frame member ID, and uprightinclined wire stays I2 connecting the frame members together.

The individual vertical elements or slats [3 shown in Figs. 1 to 5 areof thin, flexible, resilient material such as Venetian blind slatmaterial, sold under the trade name Flexalum, of about two inches inwidth and /100 of an inch thick, and with an arcuate or curvedcross-sec- 4 tion similar to that used in making Venetian blinds, asillustrated in Fig. 5.

At its upper end the slat I3 is cut or slotted at I 5 and 16 to form aportion I! which is bent back and forms an offset portion to engage thetop frame member of the shade as illustrated in Fig. 1. As shown in thisfigure, the offset portion I? is near one edge of the slat or elementand has a narrow portion 18 on one side and a much wider portion [9 onthe other. This arrangement of the offset portion near one edge enablesit to be covered over by the overlapipng portion of the next elementwhen applied to the shade frame, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

The element of Figs. 1 to 5 has similar cuts or slots 20 and 2| and theportion 22 between them is bent back and offset to engage the lower wiremember of the frame as illustrated in Fig. 1. With this arrangement theoffset portion will not be covered up by the overlapping slat at thebottom of the shade, and the bottom frame wire will show in front ofthese offset portions at the bottom of the shade, as illustrated in Fig.2.

Although the length of the individual elements or slats is greater thanthe distance between the upper and lower wire frame members, theflexible nature of the elements enables them to be bent so that theprojecting portions can readily be hooked around the wire. And thecurved or arcuate cross-section of the elements causes them to return toand stay in their upright position. The front slat l3 of Fig. 1 is shownin conjunction with another slat, shown in dotted lines, illustratinghow this slat when applied will cover up and conceal the offset portionI! at the top of slat I3.

A modified form of upright element or slat is shown in Fig. 6. In thisform the element is cut longitudinally or slotted at 25 at one end nearthe edge and the portion 28 is bent back and offset, leaving the greaterportion of the top of the element unchanged in appearance. Less overlapof the elements at the top of the shade is required to cover up theoffset portion 26 in this case than in the case of the slats of Figs. 1to 5.

The bottoms of the elements or slats of Fig. 6 are cut or slotted in twoplaces, 28 and 29, near the edges and the outer portions 30 and 31 arebent back to form offset portions for engaging the wire frame, leaving awide central portion 32 of the element unchanged in appearance. In thiscase the elements will not be overlapped at their lower ends but will beoverlapped at their upper ends, concealing the upper frame member fromview, while the lower frame member will be partially in view at theoffset portions.

A further modification is illustrated in Fig. '7. In this case theelement 33 is provided with two cuts or slots 34 and 36 at its upper endnear one edge and two cuts or slots 39 and 40 at its lower end so thatthe intermediate portions 35 and 4| can be bent back to form the offsetportions for engaging the wire frame. This leaves only narrow edgeportions 31 and 42 at the ends of the element. This arrangement permitsthe elements to be overlapped at both their upper and lower ends, with agreater extent of overlap at the upper portions, so that all of theoffset portions are concealed from view as illustrated in Fig. 8, wherethe concealed offset portions of one of the elements are shown in dottedlines.

From Figs. 2 and 8 it will be noted that the individual curved (incross-section) elements special fastening devices are required forfastening the elements to the frame. The offset portions which serve tohold the elements in place on the frame are readily formed by bendingand ofisetting a portion of the thin, flexible material. And thefiexible nature of the material permits the elements to be bent andtheir ends brought nearer together to permit the offset portions to hookover the frame members, in applying the elements to the frame.

The use of thin, flexible, curved sheet metal 1) elements gives anopaque lamp shade, that is, one which does not permit light to passthrough it. At the same time, the curved nature of the elements on theinside of the shade, adjacent the lamp, is advantageous in giving adiffused reflection of the light.

Where translucent shades are desired the elements may be made of thin,flexible, resilient plastic elements, of thin plastic sheets having adesirable resilience and flexibility and from which the offset portionscan be formed, e. g., by a plastic forming or bending and setting ormolding action, to give offset portions similar to those above describedin connection with the thin metal elements.

It will be evident that lamp shades of different sizes, both as toheight and diameter, and of different shapes, including cylindrical,rectangular, tapered, etc. can be made using lamp shade frames, such asconventional wire frames, of the same or different sizes and shapes andby cutting of the individual elements or slats of different lengthscorresponding to the frame to which they are to be applied.

The new lamp shade has the advantage that a number of wire frames ofstandard size, when tapered frames are used, can be shipped in nestedform and a number of groups of individual slats or elements can also beshipped in fiat or nested form and shades can readily be assembled fromslats of different colors or in different color combinations.

I claim:

1. A lamp shade comprising a pair of spaced frame members and aplurality of slats of thin flexible material of uniform width detachablyconnecting and arranged around the two frame members, each end portionof each slat having at least one open slot formed therein, the portionof the slat on one side of the open slot at each end of each slat beingoffset from the general plane of the remainder of the slat, each openslot substantially freely receiving the adjacent frame member withoutfurther substantial deformation of the slat, a portion of said framemember lying between the plane of said offset portion and the generalplane of the slat,

each slat being preshaped to have a curved transd a portion of oneadjacent slat and underlies a portion of the other adjacent slat.

3. A lamp shade as set forth in claim 1 in which the slats aredetachably connected to the frame members and in which the main bodyportion of each slat forms a portion of the outer surface of the lampshade and at least one of the offset portions of each slat underlies themain body portion of an adjacent slat.

4. A lamp shade comprising a pair of spaced frame members and aplurality of slats of thin flexible material of uniform width detachablyconnecting and arranged around the two frame members, each of the endsof each slat having a pair of open slots formed in it, the portion ofthe slat between a pair of slots being offset out of the general planeof the main body portion of the slat and each pair of slotssubstantially freely receiving a frame member without furthersubstantial deformation of the slat, the frame member lying betwen theplane of said offset portion and the general plane of the slat, and eachslat being preshaped to have a curved transverse section and partiallyoverlying one adjacent slat and partially underlying the other adjacentslat.

5. A lamp shade as set forth in claim 4 in which the pair of slots atone end of each slat is substantially centrally located therein and inwhich the pair of slots at the other end of said slat lies closer to oneedge of the slat than to the other edge thereof, the slats beingdetachably connected to the frame members in overlapping relation sothat said last-mentioned pair of slots in each slat underlie a portionof an adjacent slat.

6. A lamp shade as set forth in claim 4 in which the two pairs of slotsin opposite ends of each slat lie closer to one edge of the slat than tothe other edge thereof.

'7. A lamp shade as set forth in claim 6 in which the main body portionsof the slats form the outer surface of the lamp shade and the slats aredetachably connected to the frame members in overlapping relation sothat the offset portions of each slat underlie the main body portion ofan adjacent slat.

8. A lamp shade comprising a pair of spaced frame members and aplurality of slats of thin flexible material of uniform width detachablyconnecting and arranged around the two frame members, each of the endportions of each slat having a pair of slots formed in it, the portionof the slat between a pair of slots being offset out of the generalplane of the main body portion of the slat and each pair of slotssubstantially freely receiving a frame member without furthersubstantial deformation of the slat, the frame member lying between theplane of said offset portion and the general plane of the slat, and eachslat being preshaped to have a curved transverse section and partiallyoverlying one adjacent slat and partially underlying the other adjacentslat.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 671,814 Catlin Apr. 9, 1901 1,923,555 Provenzano Aug. 22, 19332, 2 ,795 Stuber Nov. 5, 1940 2,230,186 Johns et al Jan. 28, 19412,311,716 Walker Feb. 23, 1943 2,400,944 Morgenroth May 28, 1946

